Summary On 29 April 1997, at approximately 1805(1), the Ro/Ro vessel KENTATLANTIC, while under the conduct of a licensed pilot, struck the northwest corner of berth 2B at Saint John, damaging the dock face and holing the shell plating on the port side of the bow of KENTATLANTIC. There was neither injury nor pollution as a result of this striking. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Due to its unique position in the Bay of Fundy, Saint John experiences some of the highest tides in the world. Accordingly, ship movements are usually confined to periods of slack water, or as closely as possible, to high water. The port of Saint John is a compulsory pilotage area with pilots certificated and supplied by the Atlantic Pilotage Authority. In 1996 there were 1,724 pilot assignments. The pilot who was dispatched to KENTATLANTIC was correctly certificated, experienced and well rested before boarding the vessel at an anchorage position on 29 April at 1658. He had worked with this ship on many different occasions. The pilot was accompanied on the bridge by the master, mate and helmsman, and reportedly a Bridge Resource Management (BRM) regime was in place, but he did not mention any involvement in monitoring the progress of the vessel. He was aware of the weather conditions prior to boarding the vessel and that the vessel was in a ballast condition. He had noted wind conditions from the anemometer mounted in the pilot office. He was also aware of the predicted time of high water and the irregularities in times and heights due to freshets. At 1727, KENTATLANTIC reported to Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre(MCTS)(Fundy Traffic) that her anchors were aweigh and that she was proceeding. There are three Calling In Points (CIP) at designated areas in the approaches to, and in, Saint John Harbour: Nos. 6, 7, and 8. At 1738, the tug ATLANTICTEAK was at CIP 6 and reported to Fundy Traffic. At 1742, KENTATLANTIC reported to Fundy Traffic that she was at CIP 6 and would be up to CIP 7 in ten minutes. ATLANTICTEAK arrived at CIP 7 at 1748 and reported her location to Fundy Traffic. At 1749, KENTATLANTIC ordered the tugs to switch to Channel 7. It should be noted that Channel 7 is not recorded by the MCTS system and was used as a working frequency between the pilot, with his hand-held VHF radio, and the tugs. Both tugs changed to the new frequency. The above noted times are transcribed from the audio tape recording as recorded by Fundy Traffic. Some time after 1749, the pilot ordered the tugs to take up positions with ATLANTIC BEECH forward on the port bow and ATLANTICTEAK aft. The tug aft was to make fast on the port quarter with two lines, supplied by the tug. Between CIP 8 and Rodney Terminal the tugs usually would be in position or made fast to an inbound vessel. The distance between Rodney Terminal (D) and the designated berth 2B is approximately 0.32 miles. ATLANTIC BEECH left her position at Pier 13 at 1750 and reported her movements to Fundy Traffic. At 1751, KENTATLANTIC called Fundy Traffic to report that she was at CIP 7, and would be at CIP 8 in eight minutes. The vessel again called at 1758, reporting that she was now passing CIP 8 and would call again when alongside Pier 2. At approximately 1805, while approaching Pier 2, the port bow of the KENTATLANTIC struck the northwest corner of berth 2B. The vessel's shell plating was holed and the face of the dock was damaged. At 1817, KENTATLANTIC reported to Fundy Traffic that she had turned and was outbound. The vessel was going back out to anchor. About ten minutes later KENTATLANTIC made a request to Fundy Traffic for the latest weather forecast. Fundy Traffic responded with a forecast, issued at 1700, giving a continued gale warning with winds northwest at 25 to gales 35 knots, diminishing to northwest at 20 knots overnight. The report of the striking was received through the agent, and recorded by MCTS at 18:22. A further report was received from the vessel, at 18:35, while she was en-route to the anchorage. The regulations state, that, the master of a ship within a Vessel Traffic Services Zone shall ensure that a report is made to a marine traffic regulator as soon as the master becomes aware of the involvement of the ship in a collision, grounding or striking. The measured distances between CIP 6 and CIP 7 and between CIP 7 and CIP 8 are 1.3 miles and 1.45 miles respectively. These distances indicate that the calculated average inbound speed of KENTATLANTIC over the ground was approximately 9.44 knots and 12.49 knots respectively. In other words, the vessel made a calculated average speed of 10.97 knots between CIP 6 and 8. The speed limit in Saint John Harbour is governed by the rules stipulated by Canada Ports Corporation. The Saint John Port Corporation, with the approval of the Governor in Council, makes by-laws. The rules state that no vessel can move in a harbour at a rate of speed that may endanger life or property or is in excess of any rate of speed authorized by the Corporation. There is no posted speed limit in Saint John Harbour. It was the pilot's intention to have both tugs in position alongside the ship at some time between CIP 8 and Rodney Wharf, with ATLANTICTEAK made fast on the port quarter. The skipper of ATLANTICTEAK reported that after passing a heaving line up to the port quarter of KENTATLANTIC, he backed away before making fast with tow lines. He considered the speed of the vessel to be too fast and was worried about being forced into the hard chine, which was level with the tug's forward bulwark. The skipper of the forward tug ATLANTIC BEECH also considered the speed of KENT ATLANTIC to be too fast and was worried about coming alongside the port bow. Neither of the tug skippers reported to the pilot that they considered the speed of KENT ATLANTIC too fast. That the controls of both tugs were at Full Ahead in an endeavour to keep up with the vessel was also not reported. The listed speed of the tugs is given as 12 knots for ATLANTICTEAK and as 13 knots for ATLANTIC BEECH. The owners of the tugs have no written instructions regarding a safe speed when approaching a vessel to make fast. That decision is left to the tug skipper's discretion. The skippers of both tugs have extensive knowledge of Saint John Harbour and have worked harmoniously with both the pilot and KENTATLANTIC previously. KENTATLANTIC is a regular trader into the port of Saint John, where paper is loaded for Caribbean ports. The master is familiar with the special features of Saint John, having made eight or nine voyages to the port. When off the berth, it had been the pilot's intention to turn the vessel short round to starboard, assisted by the bow thruster and the tugs, with ATLANTICTEAK made fast on the port quarter. ATLANTIC BEECH was initially to push on the port bow, then as the ship went astern towards the berth, to change position to the starboard bow. On earlier voyages, berths 3A and 3B had been used, however, the KENTATLANTIC had berthed at number 2 on several prior occasions, and, as the faces of berths 2A and 2B are parallel to berths 3A and 3B, a similar berthing manoeuvre was planned on this occasion. Between Rodney Pier and the designated berth, the tugs were still not in position. The pilot, had ordered the tugs to change positions, because of the advice about the extreme flair (hard chine) problem from the skipper of the ATLANTICTEAK. During this time the wind started to swing the bow to port and because of the close proximity to the face of the dock neither tug could get into position on the port side of the ship. The ATLANTICTEAK was worried about being crushed between the ship and the dock, and ATLANTIC BEECH was worried about the propeller wash as the main engines of KENTATLANTIC were at Full Astern. The port anchor was let go in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the striking, which occurred at about 1805. Damage to the corners of the dock was confined to the north-west corner. Here an area approximately 1.5m by 1.5m of concrete was cracked or broken, and the fendering in way of the concrete was broken and disturbed. Damage to the KENTATLANTIC was confined to the port side of the bow in the area of the hard chine. Here the shell plating was set in and holed over an area of approximately 1.5m by 0.6m, about 23m abaft the stem. Repairs were carried out afloat.